After thinking about this more, I still don't like it but I don't hate it as much. I clearly have a different opinion of Stone than most people on this board. I don't think he's a very good defenseman at all. Being better with Brodie than Engelland or Wideman is not something to brag about, and I think the statistics show that Brodie was not that much better with Stone than the other D he played with.
I completely disagree with anyone who says Stone is a "top four." He's a 5/6 at best and if injuries push him into our top four, we're in trouble.
All that said, I'm not as upset about the money and term as I was. 3.5 isn't a terrible price to pay for a 5th D, and he shouldn't get noticeably worse over the next three years.
I DO think it's money misspent, but it's not a tremendous amount over a long period of time. It's a mistake, but a small one, not a catastrophic one.
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